Summary The Catcher in the Rye takes place in New York over about three days and follows a 17 year old boy named Holden. The book takes place around 1950s. He gets kicked out of his school because he is failing most of his classes. Holden leaves his school early, and decides to just wing it out on his own for a while. He really isn't supposed to leave until the term ends but since they already let him go, he leaves. He has about three days to kill before he goes home. What he decides to do is stay at a hotel. He checks into a hotel, and decides to go to a few bars and have a couple drinks. After He done with that he goes back to the hotel and just kind of hangs out for a while and then goes to sleep. The next day he calls his old girlfriend and they set a date. They go and see a Broadway play. After that they go ice skating they get a table in a restraint and Holden kind of makes fun of her and she just leaves. He gets kind of mad and calls a friend and has a couple of drinks with him. Later on that night he goes home to talk to his sister because his parents are gone, he talks to is sister for a while and then his parents get home. He leaves his house and goes to his old teacher's house. After he goes there, he talks to his old teacher and then goes to sleep. Holden wakes up to his old teacher patting his head. He leaves and sleeps at Grand Central Station. Holden goes to see His sister at school and gets her out. He takes her around. The rest is the end of the book.
What makes this book outstanding.
What makes this book outstanding is the point of view.The first reason that makes The Catcher in the Rye is the point of view. The point of view is first person. Salinger makes you believe you are reading the thought by thought autobiography of the main character, Holden. The way Salinger writes Holden's point of view is so realistic, it feels like you are Holden, like you are in the book. When Holden thinks about something one thought leads to another and its almost like the main character's mind wanders within the book providing you with background info. When you read this book it will sound like it's written by a 17 year old boy not an adult. The writing in the book is exactly like you would think a 17 year old boy would think.
Another thing that makes this book outstanding is the main character Holden. He is a complicated person. He is an opinionated person that has a strange way of thinking. First of all his younger brother, Allie died of leukemia three years before the events in the book take place. He was traumatized of this event and he still caries a baseball glove of his brother's. He thinks back to Allie many times through out the book. Holden looks at things in a strange way. He is extremely judgmental on everything, from people to things. One minute he likes the person and having a great time then something sets him off, something considered to be "phony", then he gets mad at the person and they get mad and leave and he ends up regretting it. He labels any thing that is wrong in this world as phony, he uses it to sort of hide from the world. Holden is on the verge of being mentally insane he was visited by a psychoanalyst. All together I think that Holden is an interesting character, and he is part of the reason that makes this book so good. Although to fully understand him you need to read the book, he is a hard person to understand and describe.
The Catcher in the Rye
By J. D. Stalinger
Picture provided by http://www.cas.buffalo.edu/classes/eng/willbern/BestSellers/Catcher/catcher.htmlSummary
The Catcher in the Rye takes place in New York over about three days and follows a 17 year old boy named Holden. The book takes place around 1950s. He gets kicked out of his school because he is failing most of his classes. Holden leaves his school early, and decides to just wing it out on his own for a while. He really isn't supposed to leave until the term ends but since they already let him go, he leaves. He has about three days to kill before he goes home. What he decides to do is stay at a hotel. He checks into a hotel, and decides to go to a few bars and have a couple drinks. After He done with that he goes back to the hotel and just kind of hangs out for a while and then goes to sleep. The next day he calls his old girlfriend and they set a date. They go and see a Broadway play. After that they go ice skating they get a table in a restraint and Holden kind of makes fun of her and she just leaves. He gets kind of mad and calls a friend and has a couple of drinks with him. Later on that night he goes home to talk to his sister because his parents are gone, he talks to is sister for a while and then his parents get home. He leaves his house and goes to his old teacher's house. After he goes there, he talks to his old teacher and then goes to sleep. Holden wakes up to his old teacher patting his head. He leaves and sleeps at Grand Central Station. Holden goes to see His sister at school and gets her out. He takes her around. The rest is the end of the book.
What makes this book outstanding.
What makes this book outstanding is the point of view.The first reason that makes The Catcher in the Rye is the point of view. The point of view is first person. Salinger makes you believe you are reading the thought by thought autobiography of the main character, Holden. The way Salinger writes Holden's point of view is so realistic, it feels like you are Holden, like you are in the book. When Holden thinks about something one thought leads to another and its almost like the main character's mind wanders within the book providing you with background info. When you read this book it will sound like it's written by a 17 year old boy not an adult. The writing in the book is exactly like you would think a 17 year old boy would think.
Another thing that makes this book outstanding is the main character Holden. He is a complicated person. He is an opinionated person that has a strange way of thinking. First of all his younger brother, Allie died of leukemia three years before the events in the book take place. He was traumatized of this event and he still caries a baseball glove of his brother's. He thinks back to Allie many times through out the book. Holden looks at things in a strange way. He is extremely judgmental on everything, from people to things. One minute he likes the person and having a great time then something sets him off, something considered to be "phony", then he gets mad at the person and they get mad and leave and he ends up regretting it. He labels any thing that is wrong in this world as phony, he uses it to sort of hide from the world. Holden is on the verge of being mentally insane he was visited by a psychoanalyst. All together I think that Holden is an interesting character, and he is part of the reason that makes this book so good. Although to fully understand him you need to read the book, he is a hard person to understand and describe.